Furman Paladins Football Invades the Mountains of Western Carolina
The Furman Paladins (5-1, 3-0 SoCon) make their way to EJ Whitmire Stadium to face the Western Carolina Catamounts (5-1, 3-0 SoCon) in a massive matchup of top teams battling it out for the top spot in the Southern Conference. (Game Thread)
Furman wins the toss and defers, and the game will start with Furman defense on the field first to see if they can stop the high firepower offense of WCU. Furman is able to hold the first charge and take over on downs and gets the ball on their 42. Huff on third down on the first series strong arms a defensive end and runs for a first down keeping the drive alive. Domnick Roberto runs for a first down and the Paladins are on the move at the 35. Huff runs for a first down and Furman is at the 23-yard line and misses a pass for a TD. Wayne Anderson Jr. runs for another first down and its first down at the 11-yard line. Touchdown Furman for Furman as Cline gets a TD pass from Huff and its 6-0 Furman as the try for 2 fails.
Furman kicks off to WCU and we are headed into the Catamounts second chance at getting a score on Furman. Furman #39 Evan DiMaggio gets a huge rack on the RPO, its 3rd down as it’s the first sake given up since Arkansas Yet, they hit a huge pass to #1 Desmond Reed and the ball is in Furman territory at the 34. Its 4th down for WCU and they are going for it and #15 for Furman breaks up the pass and Furman gets the ball back on the 34. They stop WCU twice now, they need to get this score and make sure they can keep a edge on WCU.
Furman now takes the ball and quickly gets to the 48 of WCU and seems to be moving the ball at will as Roberto runs for another first down and the ball is now at the TE and the ball is now at the WCU 36, and now it’s a touchdown pass Huff to #12 Hinton and with the extra point its 13-0 Furman as the Paladins are coming out firing.
Western Carolina will try against this very tough Furman defense to get their offense going. They have tried twice on fourth down and have failed each time. It’s the end of the first quarter with Furman winning 13-0 with WCU at the Furman 29-yard line to start the second quarter.
WCU takes the ball down and gets the touchdown to #6 and Western is now only down 13-7 to Furman who will need to respond to keep not only the crowd out of the game, but WCU from getting the momentum in the game. Furman takes over at the 25-yard line, and so far, has been able to score at will. Wayne Anderson Jr. takes the ball and inside the red zone to the 18. Roberto takes it to the 9 and a player is down for Furman, so we have a injury timeout. Furman comes out of the timeout and it’s a touchdown as Domnick Roberto runs it for 9 yards. The score is now 20-7 Furman with 11:25 left in the half.
Western gets a hug pass play and is already on the Furman 35-yard line. Western using big plays on Furman as Furman has been good so far against the run. Furman stuffs the run for a loss and its fourth down and will WCU go for it? They keep the offense on the field as Blackshire is able to break up the pass and the fans are upset with the no call. Roberto on the first play runs the ball to the 38-yard line as the run is killing the Catamounts all game. Huff is sacked and its 4th down for Furman and here comes the punt team. Leavy shanks the punt and WCU takes over at the 37 as a huge mistake by Furman special teams. Western Carolina is now on the Furman 40 and going after another score as Furman needs a stop here. Furman with the pass interference in the end zone which means its first down at the 17-yard line. Next play Western gets a 17-yard touchdown pass and its 20-14 as this game is now much closer than Furman wants, they will have to respond right here with 2:18 left in the 2nd quarter.
Furman comes out and wants to score before the half ends, as Huff runs the ball to the 50-yard line. Huff hits his TE Cline, and he gets it down to the 22-yard line Huff and Cline have connected well today as 16 seconds left. Furman scores a TD but a flag for holding calls it back and its 3 seconds left before the half. Furman comes out of the timeout ready to kick a field goal. Furman misses the attempt, and we are 20-14 headed to half time.
Furman was able to rush 20 for 182 yards, 99 yards passing, 33 plays for 281 yards of offense, while holding the ball for 13:40 minutes, and going 3-3 in the red zone. They will need to get the same production out of Roberto and Anderson in the second half to keep the game in check. The Paladins get the ball back first as we start the second half of the game. Furman gets the ball and starts its march up the field as Huff and Cline once again connect for a huge play to the WCU 25-yard line. Furman then Roberto runs for a first down to the 15-yard line.
Furman will settle for a Field Goal something that has been a problem today, as the kick is blocked, and Western Carolina is getting the ball at the 22-yard line.
Western takes the ball and starts its march down the field with a first down at the 40. Western connects again and its first down at the Furman 42-yard line. Western gets another first down pass to the Furman red zone and no it’s at the 19-yard line. Furman gets the interception in the end zone and Furman has to wait for a video review. Furman gets the ball and is unable to do anything and once again shanks the ball on the punt, a special teams nightmare day for Furman. The end of the third quarter it’s still 20-14 as Western is giving Furman fits, plus the special teams for Furman has been a huge issue.
Western will kick for the first time today and Furman will take over at the 20-yard line hoping to get a score and further its lead. Huff is ready to lead his team down the field and he gets the first down out to the 46. Huff hits Luke Shifflet for a huge pass first down to the 30-yard line of the Catamounts. Furman takes the ball down and gets a 39-yard field goal to make the game two scores with 7:54 left in the game.
Western comes out needing two scores to make a comeback in this game, they complete two passes and are already in Furman territory on the 47, and another catch gets them to the 31. Timeout on the field with 6:20 left as Furman has a player down, and Western is at the 28-yard line. Furman holds as WCU comes out to kick a field goal and its good as its 23-17 Western Carolina 17 and Furman 23. The Paladins will now try to get another score while running all the time off the clock, as Western has shown how explosive they can be today. Furman gets the ball back and after another overturned penalty starts its journey to get another score. Roberto gets another first down with just 1:157 left in the game as Western takes its first timeout of the second half with two left, Furman needs to make another first down to put this game away. Tyler Huff scores a touchdown but a flag on the play its against the Western Carolina team and it will be put on the kickoff as Furman is now up 29-17 with the Paladins taking a timeout before the extra point. Huff pretty much sealed the game with 54 seconds left in the game.
Furman is going to win this game and are now the top dog in the SoCon!
